


Camping, It’s In-Tents!

by AubreyRichman



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25908304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AubreyRichman/pseuds/AubreyRichman
Summary: When the 4th floor team goes camping as a work retreat, what could go wrong?And one of the questions on Zoeys mind: Chipmunks. Cute Critters or Menace?
Relationships: Zoey Clarke/Max Richman
Comments: 29
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I’m actually camping as I’m typing this!   
> Thanks to my team and the discord group for their help!!   
> This was originally going to be a one shot but it has blossomed into a beast!!

Monday 8:05 A.M. 

“Can someone please explain to me why Joan thinks camping would be a good idea for a team retreat? We’re tech people! Does she really think that we will enjoy this and bond instead of pushing everyone further apart?” Zoey groaned at Max, as he expertly turned onto the dirt road that led to the campsite. 

“It’s not going to be that bad, Zoey! There’s bathrooms with flushing toilets, and showers, and electricity. That’s a heck of a lot better than any camp I went to with Lee growing up. Sometimes, we had to dig a hole before we-” 

“Just...gross. Why would anyone spend a small fortune to live like a homeless person?” Zoey sighed as she stopped him from giving her the disturbing details. “Ok. Maybe you’re right. It may be okay. I just... I have to share a tent with Joan.”

Max parked the car next to an open tent spot under a large pine and looked over at her. 

“Zoey, it’s going to be fine. Joan likes you and, face it, you’re the only other girl on the team. It kinda has to be you. I’m just glad she told me I didn’t have to share a tent with Tobin and Leif. I’ve got my own two-man tent all to myself.”

Zoey pouted as she glared at her best friend. “Maybe I can convince Joan to let me stay with you…” 

“I already tried that. She wants you all to herself.” He winked at her. “Nah, she said something about HR guidelines or whatnot.” 

“Fine.” Zoey sighed. “Well, should we get this over with?” 

“Zo, we are up here 5 days. This is just the beginning.” Max said, as Zoey let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back against the headrest. 

Max’s reached over and grasped her hand, the warmth of his skin drawing her gaze to their entwined fingers. She couldn’t help but notice, as she always did, how well her hand fit into his. She groaned and looked into the rich brown eyes of her best friend. 

“You’ve got this, Zo. And I’ll be with you every step of the way. Camping is pretty simple. What could go wrong?”

  
  


After exiting the car, Max and Zoey found Joan, Leif and Tobin all working on their tents. Joan had already finished setting up their tent, so Zoey offered to help Max with his. He laughed lightly and accepted, before moving to the trunk of his car and pulling out a compactly packed canvas bag. 

“The whole thing fits in there?” Zoey asked, dubiously.

“Yep! Now we just have to put it together. Think of it like a puzzle. You like puzzles.” 

Zoey watched in shock as Max emptied the bag onto the ground. Three neatly folded rectangles of fabric, a smaller canvas bag that clanged as it hit the ground from what sounded like metal inside, and a pile of long black and silver sticks lay before her, all that was left was to put them together. 

“Rule one of pitching your tent.” Max said, as he laid out the first piece of fabric. “Always put a tarp down before putting up the tent. It protects the bottom of your tent and if you have a hole, and helps to keep water out of your stuff inside. A tarp is actually cheaper than a tent if you need to replace it.” 

He then folded out the largest piece of fabric, which Zoey soon discovered was the actual tent part. He showed Zoey how to fit the poles into each other and the deftly slid them into place. Soon the tent was upright and fully formed.

“What’s this one for?” Zoey asked, holding up the other tarp. 

“That is a rain tarp. It protects the top of the tent.” 

Zoey nodded in understanding, helping him to secure the protective cover. 

“Congratulations, You just pitched your first tent!” 

Zoey smiled and heard Tobin laugh as he walked by, holding a camouflage backpack. 

“I’m betting that’s not the only tent you’ll pitch this trip, huh Max?” 

Zoey looked over at her best friend and saw his face flush a deep red. She interrupted Max’s frustration. “Let’s go check out the rest of the place!”

He cleared his throat, nodding in response and followed her to explore the campground. 

  
  


_ Why is Joan so freaking excited about this trip? No one should be this excited about dirt and sleeping on the ground.  _ Zoey thought to herself, as she sulked while she laid out and arranged her sleeping bag. Joan already had her gear set up neatly on her side of the small tent.  _ And  _ **_Joan_ ** _?? Of all people, I would have never thought  _ **_she_ ** _ would like camping. But I guess, she did grow up in the Dakotas…  _

Zoey’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt, when she heard her name being called from somewhere near the firepit by a very familiar sounding voice. She ducked out of the tent, the zipper catching her hair. Once untangled, she meandered over to the circle of wooden benches surrounding the cement pit. 

The team was already gathered there, everyone chatting excitedly but also appearing fairly anxious. Max greeted her with a smile as she entered the circle, patting the empty seat beside him. She smiled back and sat on the surprisingly comfortable bench. 

“I wasn’t sure if you’d heard me, I thought I may have to come get you.” Max whispered to her as Joan stood up. 

Zoey chuckled softly as she replied, “I don’t know how I could miss it.” 

“Alright! So, I know that some of you are not excited about camping, but I want you guys to give it a chance. This is going to be a great opportunity for us all to bond and get to know each other in a different setting.” 

Zoey rolled her eyes and groaned softly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Max’s face break into a smirk, nudging her knee with his own. 

As Joan continued to tell them her plan for the coming days, Zoey felt the dread in her stomach grow with each new event that was mentioned. How she would survive this week was a mystery, and one she wanted no part in solving. 

  
  
  



	2. Jojo the Clown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my beta for this chapter TheAuthor44. LadyLillianRose was not feeling well so I gave her a break with this one so its all a surprise for her! 
> 
> TheAuthor44 also gets credit for the story of Jojo the Clown!!

CHAPTER 2

Zoey woke up on Tuesday morning to the bubbliest voice she ever heard come out of Joan’s mouth. After the campfire stories last night, that were apparently an integral part of camping tradition, she’d only slept an hour. Unfortunately, that hour was haunted by dreams of forest creatures with sharp and bloody teeth. The rest of the time was filled with creaking noises, cracking sticks and, something that sounded like it was being dragged across the ground. 

She stumbled out of the tent and headed to the circle of benches at the center of their camp. Max sat in their spot and rubbed his eyes sleepily. 

“Hey.” Max said softly, obviously still exhausted. 

“You look like you slept about as well as I did,” Zoey yawned. 

“Stupid stories last night. It’s been too long since I went camping. I forgot about the sounds.” 

“Creepy forest creatures?” 

Max nodded and shivered. 

“Same here, I didn’t fall asleep until an hour ago.” 

“Next time, come and hang out with me. We can be awake together.” 

“You got it.” Zoey agreed firmly. 

After a long hike and lunch, Zoey retreated to a quiet patch of shade on the outskirts of camp and pulled out her headphones to listen to a podcast. She had started to doze off in the grass, but was woken up by a gentle hand touching her arm. She opened her eyes and saw Max’s face smiling down at her. Crouching down next to her, he looked at her fondly as she pulled off her headphones.

“A nap was a great choice after that hike. Sorry to wake you.” 

She shook her head at him as she slowly sat up, propping herself up on her elbows. “What time is it?” 

“It’s dinner time already, 6 o’clock.” 

“Oh, did I miss anything?” 

“Nah. Just Leif and Tobin... and their macrame.” 

Zoey looked at Max in disbelief. “Their what?!” 

“Apparently, they have a different craft for us to do each day. Tomorrow is dream catchers.” 

“Where did the idea to do crafts come from?” 

“Apparently Dr. Dalton gave Joan a list of ‘team building’ activities.”

Dr. Henry Dalton was Sprq Point’s new in-house psychiatrist. The middle aged man was a friendly person and Joan had been talking to him in her office quite a bit lately to plan this trip. Given his participation in planning this horrid affair, Zoey had decided that for the moment, she was not a fan of the good doctor. 

Max held out his hand, helping Zoey up from the grass, before they made their way back to the circle. On the way, Zoey saw a small furry creature sitting on a tree branch, looking down at them, swishing its tail back and forth. She shuddered and kept moving.  _ Only three and a half more days _ .  _ I can do this.  _

After they had tin foil dinners around the fire when it got nice and dark, Tobin decided he would tell another story. Zoey subconsciously edged closer to Max on the wooden bench, not that they weren’t close enough already. It didn’t help that she was always cold and he made an excellent space heater. 

As Tobin began the story, his face lit by the flames and his arms moving wildly for emphasis.

“This is The Tale of Jojo. Before becoming a glamping ground for tech boomers and media starlets, these grounds had much humbler beginnings. There used to be a circus that would pass through, travelling by train to all the nearby towns. That was … until what happened to Jojo. Jojo was always so different from the other clowns. Those guys always wanted to go out drinking, or blow their money on the ponies. But not Jojo. He was a kind and gentle soul.” 

Zoey groaned under her breath. “Dammit. I hate clowns.” She shifted in her seat uncomfortably, until Max reached over and patted her knee gently to reassure her before Tobin continued. 

_“_ In fact, he had such a gentle soul, he couldn't find it in his heart to lie to the circus owner about where all the other clowns had disappeared to after curfew. That’s how Jojo explained it to his clown brethren when they all lost a week's pay over it. But they didn’t care …they wanted revenge. So one day, they told Jojo they were gonna practice a new pie throw routine in the kaboose. And they wanted Jojo to be the one who got the pie in the face. Jojo, of course, was thrilled. This was a big honor. Little did Jojo know that inside that shaving cream pie was a small sack of stones. As he stood there, a big grin on his face, the other clowns laughed knowing that their revenge would soon be at hand. Blinky, the one who had the great idea to break Jojo’s nose and teach him a lesson, got to throw the pie. He aimed right for Jojo’s face, when suddenly the train had to switch tracks to avoid a rock slide. But by then it was too late. The pie hit Jojo’s face with a resounding CRACK, that sent Jojo stumbling back and over front the railing of the kaboose.” 

By this time, Tobin was on his feet and was acting out the story as best he could. Zoey’s body was already so tense, and she felt Max tense up right alongside her. 

“‘Help me!’ He screamed, the blood gushing from his face. The other clowns realized that this was going too far, but as they rushed to help him, the train jolted again - dragging Jojo’s body underneath the train. As he lay mangled on the tracks, his fellow clowns looked on - one of them swearing they saw movement. But that was impossible, no one could have survived being underneath a train as it changed tracks. A year later, the circus came back around, minus Jojo of course. Blinky had an eerie feeling ever since they came back, like the spirit of Jojo was haunting them. The other clowns told him to put it out of his mind … until the last night before they moved on to the next town.”

Tobin sat down before continuing, his voice becoming surprisingly soft. 

_ “ _ As Blinky lay sleeping, he heard a sound - like something dragging through the dirt. He tried to ignore it, but it was only getting louder and louder. Sitting up from his cot, he could see that the other clowns were missing. Thinking that they snuck out for a drink, and that’s what the sound was, Blinky picked up a lantern and headed out to find them. As he stepped out of the tent, Blinky looked around but didn’t see anything. He heard the dragging noise again, following it to this very clearing. In the darkness, Blinky could make out a shadowed figure sitting by a tree. He picked up the lantern, ready to scold his brothers, only to find all of their faces had been bashed in. Blinky screamed at the horrific sight, dropping his lantern to the ground. The lantern fell onto a discarded moonshine jug, which caught the field ablaze. When Blinky turned around, he saw a mangled figure sliding towards him, that same digging sound now sending shivers up his spine. As it got closer to the fames, Blinky could see that the figure was Jojo. He was horribly disfigured, his clothes covered in both his own dried blood, and the fresh blood of his brothers. His nose was broken, his arms bent to inhuman angles, and one of his legs lay dead, being dragged along as he cried ‘help me’.”

Zoey let out a quiet groan, as the dragging noise from the night before came back to her memory. Max reached over and took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. 

_ “ _ The fire didn’t even phase him, as his eyes looked black as the night sky above. Blinky screamed and ran into the fire just to get away. He burned his leg so badly, he collapsed on the other side, watching terrified as Jojo walked through the flames, his misshapen face contorting as he looked down at the bloodied rock in his hand. The last thing Blinky saw was Jojo limping towards him, before throwing that rock like a pie to the face.They say that Jojo’s mangled and burned body still wanders around these woods. So if you hear any dragging noises … I’d run.” 

Zoey let out a relieved sigh when Tobin’s story was over, but her body still seemed to vibrate with apprehension and dread. Between those noises last night…and clowns… she was terrified. Looking over at Max, Zoey found he simply looked amused. 

“You good, Zo?” She nodded hesitantly as he gazed down at her. “Well, try to get some sleep tonight, alright?” 

She nodded again, her voice struggling to come to the surface. 

Somewhere around midnight, Zoey woke from a nightmare. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the mangled and bloody face of Jojo the clown before her, coming closer as he dragged his leg through the forest. The world around her was silent. Nothing made a noise except the wind through the trees; even the crickets were being quiet. She lay there for a moment, trying to go back to sleep but she couldn’t. Joan faced away from her and Zoey took a deep breath before making her decision. 

Stepping quietly out of the tent, Zoey slipped her flip flops on before padding softly over to Max’s tent. 

“Max? Max, are you awake?” She whispered.

She heard a soft groan but then he answered, his voice thick with sleep. “Zo? You okay?”

“Nevermind, it’s nothing. Go back to sleep.” She turned and was about to walk back to her tent, when she heard the zipper from his tent move.

“Zoey Clarke, get in here.” He said in a gravely tone as he reached out and grasped her arm, pulling her into the tent with him. She let out a small yelp and he let go. “Sorry. Did I hurt you?” He asked apologetically with a hint of panic. 

She shook her head, “No. You just surprised me, that’s all.” 

“Clowns, huh?” He asked with a small smirk. 

“Clowns. And I had a stupid dream about Jojo.” 

“I’m sorry, Zo.” He said softly with a sad smile. “Anything I can do?”

“Just help me get my mind off it?” She asked hopefully, as she looked around his neatly organized tent. “Wow. You really have this camping thing down, huh?” 

He chuckled. “Lee is an Eagle Scout, so my dad sent me to camp with him while he was getting his badges. It wasn’t something I really wanted but I learned to enjoy the simple side of it all.” 

“You’re really good at it.” She said honestly. 

“You’ve only seen the basics. Just wait for the crafts tomorrow. I’ll show you a thing or two!” He winked at her. 

She shivered as she looked around again and he quickly moved to his sleeping bag, unzipping it and climbing inside. “Come here. We need to get you warm.” He said, beckoning to her.

She hesitated slightly, but then moved to lay down beside him. He pulled her closer to him and she laid her head on his T-shirt.  _ Dammit, even when we're camping he smells good.  _

His rich voice rumbled in his chest beneath her head. “You can sleep, Zoey. You’re safe. I’ve got you.” And she did, feeling safer than she had since they arrived. 


End file.
